Family & Relationships

How teenager Arye Abraham became the go-to source for Dwight Howard News

By Vincent Bonsignore, Los Angeles Daily News

Posted:
07/05/2013 07:32:46 AM PDT

Updated:
07/05/2013 07:32:53 AM PDT

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2013 file photo, Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard dunks during the first half of their NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, in Los Angeles. Chris Paul is staying in Los Angeles; Dwight Howard could be leaving. NBA free agency opens, with Paul sticking with the Clippers and Howard exploring his options before deciding on his future with the Lakers. (Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press)

At its core, this is a story about resourcefulness, a hotel doorman, two Brazilians, a little bit of luck and the frenzy created by the biggest prize on the NBA free-agent market.

But really it's about a 16-year-old kid from Beverly Hills who decided he wanted to do something memorable to kick off his summer vacation.

And succeeded.

But more about all that in a bit.

Unless you just touched down from Mars, you've probably noticed that most of Los Angeles is anxiously waiting on center Dwight Howard to decide where he wants to spend the next four or five years of his career.

And by now, you probably know Howard has met with, and will decide among, the Lakers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks.

You probably even know Howard took meetings with all five teams between Monday and Tuesday near his home in Beverly Hills.

What you might not know is, some of the key elements of that story were brought to you by a kid who just finished his sophomore year at Beverly Hills High.

"I honestly didn't set out for all this," Abraham said Wednesday. "Mostly I just wanted to maybe have some sort of impact on Dwight's decision by showing him how much we want him to stay with the Lakers."

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But in the process, he became a go-to source for the latest news on the Howard sweepstakes.
It was Abraham who put two and two together and figured out the team executives heading to Los Angeles to woo Howard would probably stay at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

"That's pretty much where a lot of teams stay during the season," Abraham pointed out.

It was Abraham who cultivated a relationship with a hotel doorman all those long afternoons hanging out at the Beverly Wilshire during the NBA season hoping to get a glimpse of his favorite players - then tapped into that relationship to gather some key information on who was coming and going at the hotel early this week.

Turns out, it was a who's-who of the NBA, everyone from Warriors coach Mark Jackson and star guard Stephen Curry to the front office and coaching staff of the Houston Rockets.

"He definitely hooked me up," Abraham said of the doorman.

And it was Abraham who deduced if the actual meetings with Howard weren't taking place at the Beverly Wilshire - a tip from the doorman - undoubtedly they'd happen at one of the swanky hotels near Howard's home.

"That's how I kind of figured out the Rockets meeting would be at the (Hotel Bel-Air)," Abraham said.
And finally, it was Abraham who had the foresight to hit up Brazilian basketball players Lucas Nogueira and Raul Neto - whom he stumbled upon in Beverly Hills - once he learned they were clients of NBA agent Dan Fegan - the same agent representing Howard.

"We asked them where Fegan's office was," Abraham said.

"Right down the street," they answered.

"When we figured out Fegan's office was so close, it was pretty easy to figure out some meetings would be held there," Abraham said.

And that is how Abraham just happened to be present when the Rockets and Lakers made their individual pitches to Howard - showing up at the Hotel Bel-Air just as Howard was sitting down for dinner with the Rockets contingency Monday and then arriving at the lobby of Fegan's office in time for the Lakers to sit down with Howard on Tuesday afternoon.

Armed with an iPhone 4s and a mindset groomed by the social media age in which he lives, Abraham began clicking pictures and tweeting them out along with a near blow-by-blow account of what he was witnessing.

"It just all sort of came together perfectly," Abraham said.

What happened next is a tribute to a teenager's ingenuity and proof of the power of social media.
"My phone just started going nuts," Abraham said.

Not by calls, but by Twitter notifications.

"Pretty soon I had a bunch of new followers," he said.

As in hundreds more.

In fact, @arye_abraham followers grew from 20 to more than 1,000 seemingly within hours. Late Wednesday afternoon, Abraham had more than 1,340 followers.

And not just any followers.

National NBA reporters from across the country got wind of the kid from Beverly Hills staking out the Howard meetings and began following him, some even retweeting the information to their followers.

Such as:

They have entered the Bel Air Hotel. TWEET!

Currently eating dinner at the Bel Air Hotel. TWEET!

Dwight's meeting has NOT ended yet. The Mercedes luxury van is still waiting outside. TWEET!

And on and on and on through the Lakers' meeting with Howard on Tuesday.

Along the way, Abraham earned the respect of grizzled reporters who couldn't help admire the 16-year-old kid scooping them left and right.

"That was pretty awesome," Abraham said.

All because he wanted to do something cool this summer - and perhaps somehow sway Howard into staying.